Saturday, May 9, 2015

Method 15/33 - Shannon Kirk

Method 15/33
Shannon Kirk
Oceanview, May 5 2015, $26.95
ISBN 9781608091454

From the moment the male kidnapped her, the sixteen years old pregnant victim plots her escape.  Calling her plan Method 15/33 with the immediate goal of freedom for her and her unborn, and an avenging long term goal afterward; the teen analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of her abductee and his visitors whom she classifies as The Doctor and Mr. and Mrs. Obvious.  Quickly she understands their motive is to snatch her trimester baby that she carries.  Keeping her wits, she pretends to be a frightened teen while cataloging her potentially available assets to use as weapons against her capturer, his medical partner and their customers; or enablers to get away. 

Knowing they will get little to no help from the locals who prefer to classify the cases as runaways especially since these are nonentities with no ransom demands, two FBI agents investigate the serial disappearance of pregnant teens in the Midwest.  The Feds currently follow leads re Dorothy Salucci that leads to a rural part of the Hoosier state.

Method 15/33 is an exhilarating thriller that grips the audience from the moment we meet the calm methodical victim whose goal-setting for a life for her and her child after gaining her freedom keeps her going (mindful of Viktor Frankl’s premise in Man's Search for Meaning).  Her ability to remember all she cataloged may seem implausible; yet the focused protagonist makes it come across as reasonable.  Readers will appreciate this refreshing terse thriller.


Harriet Klausner

No comments: